Before coming to Our House, Lindsey had been living in addiction for years, to the point where even her family did not know if she would make it out to the other side. After a period of incarceration and a stay at an outpatient facility, Lindsey felt like she had burned all of her bridges. Coming to Our House with only the clothes she was wearing in August of 2023 turned that all around. Lindsey moved into the Shelter and immediately hustled to find a job and dedicated herself to being sober. Lindsey used the Career Center to work on her resume, take budgeting classes, and anger management classes. Her Reentry Case Manger helped her acquire her essential documents like a birth certificate and social security card. In just a short time, Lindsey settled into a job at Community Bakery where she still works today and has been promoted twice!
With the help of recovery meetings, our partners at the Wolfe Street Foundation, and therapy sessions with our Public Health AmeriCorps members, Lindsey found her sobriety. When she was at a place where she knew her sobriety would stick and her job was secure, Lindsey happily brought her daughter, Haylee, to live with her again. Kaylee and Lindsey moved up into our transitional Family House where they could live in a private room together. Kaylee got connected to one of our Children’s Therapists and enrolled in our after-school program, Our Club, which was a great help to Lindsey’s work schedule—Our Club was able to pick Kaylee up for school and take a lot of the load of tracking Kaylee’s grades and progress.
After 18 months in the Housing programs, Lindsey purchased a car with her savings and just secured her own apartment! Lindsey’s Stability Case Manager, Shay, worked to get her deposit and first month’s rent covered and was a huge advocate for Lindsey during the application process. Lindsey plans to keep working through case management after her move, and she knows that help at Our House is just a call or an email away. “My case manager used to work in the Shelter when I first moved in,” Lindsey says. “She saw me at my very worse.” Lindsey credits a lot of people, including Shay, on her journey that saw the potential in her and didn’t judge her as simply an addict. “I know I have a good network put in place, so I’ll still have the structure I need when I leave.”